After the Eldrazi
by Rikuskey
Summary: This is just a short interaction that I wanted to happen after the Gatewatch returned to Ravnica. It features Ral walking in to pester Jace. Also my first real FanFic so yeah.


Author note: After reading the intro to the Kaladesh series, where all of the Gatewatch were together, this came into my mind. Also, forgive me, I haven't fully read all of the story ^^; I am going to go back and read them thoroughly so that I can edit this to better apply past references.

And well, It turned out to go much more in a direction I didn't expect it to go haha. But ah well. Either way, Enjoy!

Jace was happy to be home in Ravnica. He enjoyed traveling into other planes. It gave him an opportunity to learn about his multiverse, see new things, and gain new experiences. They usually brought him new ideas which in turn helped him better keep (try to rather) peace in Ravnica.

However, this last trip wasn't enjoyable. Going to Zendikar and fighting the Eldrazi wasn't on the top of his list of things to do. But he wasn't alone. He fought them alongside five other Planeswalkers, each connected to a different elemental mana. With their combined effort and will, they were able to take the alien creatures down.

Well…. Kind of. Emrakul, the strongest and most deadly, couldn't be killed. Only contained.

It was something that bothered Jace since they had returned. Could Emrakul return yet again? Would the binding they had used hold long enough? Or would it be easily broken, like Ugin's was? Was there a way to finally destroy the Eldrazi? Or were the planes doomed to destruction?

He had no answers, but was determined to find them. Until then, the Gatewatch would protect the planes from any force that tried to disrupt them.

Tonight, they were just gathered in his Sanctum because there wasn't any room elsewhere for all of them. They still weren't quite sure what to do from here, but they made a bit of progress each night. If they didn't get caught up in conversation.

Jace took a moment to look around at everyone.

Nissa was sitting by the window looking outside. The light that was shining on her long brown braid made her sharp elvish features stand out. She was connected to the planes in ways that Jace would have never understood if he had never linked his mind with hers. She saw the world with such beauty and respect. It wasn't just a place of residence- it was a living creature with feelings and thoughts of its own. It spoke, laughed, and even cried like anyone else. Nature was her best friend.

Gideon was examining the books on one of Jace's bookshelves. The muscular man eyed them with a confused look. He scratched at the facial hair on his chin.

Jace chuckled to himself. Those books weren't something that Gideon would be able to understand. It wasn't that he was stupid. He was just more of a heroic "never leave anyone behind and fight to the end" type of guy. His skills lay in the field of battle and leadership. Not hardcore sciences and math. This was proven by the way that he handled his light whip in battle. He coiled the tendrils around his foes so skillfully, it was almost an art.

Chandra was sitting in a chair. Her short red hair wasn't on fire, but it was obvious that she crawled out of bed and just threw her googles on. Clearly bored, she propped her feet propped up on the table, knocking over a few pens. Jace inwardly scowled. He had organized all of the things on that table and she had messed them up to make room for her feet. But that was Chandra. A bit of chaos wasn't a bad thing and her temper was just a fiery as the element she controlled. If it wasn't for her strong will and passion, they would have never been able to knock the Eldrazi back while they were still on Zendikar.

Then there was Lilliana. Jace still wasn't sure what to make of this. She was also sitting at the table, but unlike Chandra, she sat posed with elegance and pride. Her long black hair fell from her headdress over her shoulders, and past her waist. They had a history and at one time Jace would have even said he loved her. But that time was now as dark as the element Liliana ruled over. She had betrayed him and although time had passed, some wounds could only heal so much. Still, if it wasn't for her, the Gatewatch would have had their asses handed to them. She and her zombie hoard came in to save the day during the fight with the Eldrazi on Innistrad. She had provided support when Jace hadn't expected any. And now she had also become a member of the Gatewatch. Jace had never expected that part. Perhaps she had changed. But Jace wasn't ready to take chances yet.

The last planeswalker that had helped wasn't here. Tamiyo didn't become part of the Gatewatch, but she resolved to help them in any way possible and spread the word that they were there to help. That in itself was a lot.

 _And then there's me._ Jace thought. He had never expected to become part of a planes protecting group. All he wanted to do was discover. Trouble seemed to have a way of finding him though. Or perhaps, he found it by being just a little _too_ curious for his own good. Either way, he was normally able to use his telepathy skills to get out of trouble. Except for when it came to the Eldrazi.

He shuddered at the thought of the lifeless, thoughtless creatures.

 _Enough of them._ He thought to himself, slightly shaking his head. They had work to do.

He cleared his throat, gathering his thoughts. Everyone eyed him expectantly. They had agreed that tonight they would finalize their plans.

"So, great one, what is the plan?"

Of course Liliana wouldn't miss a chance to mock him. He glared at her, preparing a smart ass response. But before he could, Lavinia burst through the door, carrying a pile of paper in her arms. She walked right past the other planeswalkers and shoved them into Jace's arms.

"You have _ALL_ of this that _NEEDS_ to be done _TONIGHT!_ " She told him.

"Wh-what?" he flustered. He didn't want to do this damned paperwork. That's all the Guildpact title had brought him. Paper.

"What even is all of this? And I have to deal with Gatewatch matters. Planes saving issues!"

"Such as?" Lavinia raised an eyebrow at him. "From what I've seen of your little mini meetings, its all just you five doing nothing but waste time."

"It's called socializing!" Jace nervously looked around the room. Everyone was watching. Some had confused looks, like Gideon, and others were amused, such as Liliana. He felt terribly in the spot light.

"And that's what happens when you plan, you speak, talk, use words!"

"Words that aren't even about the actual job you're trying to do! So you may as well start signing papers while you do it!" She scolded him.

"Ooooh, I didn't realize someone had a mommy here." Teased Chandra.

"Oh shut it!" Jace snapped at her. Chandra laughed in response.

"Perhaps we could take a bit to rest some more while you deal with business Jace." Gideon suggested.

"After all, you rule this place. It's important for a leader to deal with his subjects."

"I _run_ the place actually." Jace corrected. "And it's not like they're my subjects. Most of the time they don't even listen to me anyway. They just come to me and bicker about each other. And say how much they want to fight each other. And destroy each other. And more bickering. And someone stole their candy. And stepped on their toe and sneezed too close to them."

"It is still a respectable position. You've done well."

Gideon had no idea that most of the place stayed together because of Lavinia. If it wasn't for her, Jace probably would have seen the death of Ravnica.

He dropped the heavy stack of papers onto the table. He did not want to do any paperwork today. He did everything he could to avoid it. Maybe he could find a way to sneak off without anyone realizing.

"HEY GUILDPACT!"

Jace knocked over the pile of paper as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

 _Oh fuck are you kidding me?_ He felt his heart pound when he recognized the voice _. Not now!_

Ral Zarek, one of the bigger thorns in his side, was crawling through the window Nissa was sitting at. She was now cautiously stepping away from the window. Ral had used his storm abilities to get up there. He couldn't stop using them sometimes and he always had to make an entrance. His dark hair was spiked, possibly from the electricity he works with, and his face bore a smug grin. Jace recognized it. He hadn't come here for serious business. He just wanted to pester the shit out of Jace and make his life more difficult.

"Why, I need some things approved for the Izzet Races, so would you kindly… oh… who are these people?" He asked noticing all the strangers.

Lavinia immediately stepped in front of him.

"You need to leave NOW." She told him, trying to block his view.

Ral danced around her to get a better look.

"They don't look like they're from around here." He stated.

Lavinia's face betrayed panic.

"Ral Zarek, I swear if you don't leave this instant there will be consequences!" her voice rose. "You will be punished under Code-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, we both know that the Guildpact wouldn't allow that." He waved her off as he walked towards Jace.

Jace didn't want to admit it, but he was right. Ral was the one person he couldn't bring any punishment orders down on. No matter how infuriating the mage was, how much trouble he caused, he always pulled at one of Jace's heart strings.

The Izzet Mage draped his arm around the Guildpact's shoulders, putting all his weight on them. Jace buckled at the sudden force. He caught himself, but still had some trouble standing.

"Ral…" Jace growled through his teeth. "What…do…you….want?"

"Like I said. I need supplies and I thought 'oh, Great and Wondrous Guildpact will approve of my receiving them!' So I flew over here to see _you._ " Ral lightly tapped Jace's nose on the last word.

Jace felt his face flush as he heard the reactions. Liliana was snickering at him. Chandra muttered under her breath "He _flew?"_ Gideon's face grew curious and Jace didn't need to read minds to tell that he was wondering what kind of relationship the two men had. And Nissa… had vanished. Well, there was one person that wouldn't think him a fool later.

"I'll have to discuss the issue with you later Ral, I have company at this moment." He didn't bother trying to hide his irritation.

"So introduce me to them!"

"Ral, you need to leave. The Guildpact has some important business to discuss with his guests and you are just being rude."

 _Thank the gods for you Lavinia!_ Jace cried inside. She was trying to help him. Even if it wasn't for anything more than just to sign those papers, Jace was still grateful. Ral was embarrassing him.

"Nah, the Guildpact needs a break from all his _adventuring_ and _hard work._ ´Ral jeered.

 _Damn you, mocking asshole!_

 _You aren't fooling me Guildpact. I know you've been gone._

Oops. Jace's thought was projected into Ral. He scolded himself. He knew better than to just let his thoughts run off like that.

 _I know you've been off to other planes. And without me. Asshole._ Ral continued.

 _I had to help save the entire Multiverse, thanks._ Jace responded.

"Ok but please Ral can this not wait another day?" Lavinia pleaded, unsure of what else to do.

"Let him stay."

Everyone faced Gideon.

"I would like to get to know this person. It's another part of Jace's life that we get to learn about. And getting know about each other can help us work together in the future. Be it on the battle field or in diplomacy."

"There see?" Ral pointed at Gideon. "The beef head wants me to stay so it's all good."

Gideon raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"But I-" Jace started to protest but Liliana cut him off.

"Yes, 'Great and Wondrous Guildpact' who is this man? You've never mentioned him to me before…" She accused.

 _You aren't exactly part of my life anymore…_

"My name is Ral Zarek, as you've already figured out." Ral took his arm off Jace and crossed both across his chest. He stood with pride.

"I am one of the Izzet Mages here and I make sure that our hardworking dedicated Guildpact takes a vacation every now and again."

Jace didn't like the tone inflicted on the words _hardworking_ and _dedicated._ He was being mocked. Again.

"Oh?" Liliana raised an eyebrow. "And you know him well enough to know when he needs breaks?"

Jace wondered if that was a challenge. If so, he didn't quite understand why she was doing it. But Ral took the bait.

"Oh, I know quite well enough when he needs _breaks."_ He responded.

The emphasis. Jace turned away and put a hand on his forehead. He wasn't just getting a slight headache from this… he was trying to hide his now completely red face from Liliana. He knew exactly what Ral had implied and that was not something he wanted getting around.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead trying to get the ache out of it. When he opened them again, Chandra was right in his face. He jumped backwards with a choked gasp.

"Why are you all red?" Chandra whispered to him.

 _Please don't talk aloud right now…_ Jace pleaded to her telepathically.

 _Only if you tell me._ She smirked at him.

 _I.. why is it so interesting to you all?_ He asked.

 _Because we don't expect you to have very many friends._

 _OH THANKS FOR THAT._ Jace glared at the red head.

She giggled.

 _Is he a lover? We were taking bets on if you had one on your home plane._

 _He.. I… we…. It's not… wait what?!_ Jace couldn't even complete a thought to her. He felt so hot. Sweat began to bead on the back of his neck.

Chandra patted him on the shoulder and walked off with a snarky grin.

"I see." He heard Liliana say coolly. "You also seem to know all the right buttons to push."

"Oh, buttons are nothing compared to the work I can do." Ral smirked. "Buttons are only a small portion."

"How long have you known him?" She inquired.

"Long enough to know his ticks and preferences." Ral responded.

"So you would say you know him inside out?"

"Oh, I _know_ him inside _and_ out." Ral's smirk grew and he cocked his eyebrow.

Liliana eyed him curiously.

"Then what's his favorite activity?"

Ral chuckled.

"Well that depends on his mood of course. There are day's he just wants to do nothing but study by book and other days he wants to learn hands on…"

"OK THAT'S ENOUGH." Keeping his face down, Jace grabbed Ral's wrist and dragged him out the door. He knew where Ral was going with that and there was no need for that with Liliana.

Ral protested, muttering obscenities under his breath. Jace, still red in the face, ignored him and dragged him down to his private quarters. He yanked open the door and shoved the other man through it.

"Well, someone feels like taking charge today!" Ral mocked Jace as he closed the door and locked it. He waved his hand over the door knob, placing a spell on it. He didn't want anyone overhearing or walking in on them.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Jace demanded. "That woman is my ex and damn it, I don't want you to discuss my personal life with her!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. 'Im going to run off with my ex and save the world with her'!" Ral air quoted.

"It's not like I _wanted_ to work with her! I had to! There was no choice! I was lost in a strange place that made no sense!" Jace wasn't lying about it either. He wished that he didn't need her help back in Innistrad. But he didn't know the layout of the plane and logic didn't have a place on it. And if she hadn't come into the fight, things could have been worse.

Ral glared at him.

"I swear you get yourself into more trouble than you realize! Do you know how worried sick I was? I felt you planeswalk! I CAN FEEL YOU!"

"Look I'm sorry, but Gideon came and I had to go hel-"

Ral didn't let him finish the statement. He threw his mouth against the mind mages, not caring what he had to say anymore. Jace felt all his anger melt away. Ral was kissing him with such force Jace stumbled back into the wall. He didn't care anymore about Liliana or anyone else in that other room. He didn't care about the Eldrazi and what the Gatewatch was going to do. He just cared about Ral. Him and Ral together in this room, in this moment. He eagerly kissed Ral back. He had missed the snarky asshole more than he had thought. It dawned on him just in that moment, when Avacyn nearly killed him, Ral was the person that Jace thought of. He was the one that he wanted to see, that made him hold on.

Tears fell from his eyes. Ral felt them and pulled away, concerned.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." He gently wiped the tears off Jaces cheek.

"I…it's not that at all…" Jace said. "I almost died back on Innistrad. I just… If I hadn't made it… then you…"

He hung his head down. He felt so stupid. He should have at least told Ral he was leaving. He should have brought the mage with him. He could only imagine how devastated Ral would have been if Jace had never come back.

Ral pulled him tightly into his arms. He stroked his hair and gently shushed him.

"I'm really glad you didn't die, stupid mind mage." He whispered.

Jace noded. "Me too…"

"Hey you know what you need right now?" Ral asked.

Jace shook his head.

"What?"

"A break from all your adventuring and hard work."

Jace nodded and kissed his partner, losing himself to his feelings for him.

For fun extra:

Meanwhile, Lavinia is back in the room swearing many various and creative profanities about how now Jace isn't going to get any work done and won't even be seen until the next day.

Damn you Ral Zarek.


End file.
